Old Friends
by Kristen3
Summary: While reminiscing with her GLOB pals, Elka realizes how her life has changed...and how it's stayed the same. One-shot. Rating is for slight language.


**Author's Note: **OK, I know this story might seem a little strange and hard to follow. So, for anyone who missed the _Hot in Cleveland _episode that reunited the MTM gang, here's a bit of explanation so that you can follow this. For the annual "birthdate" tradition, Elka decided she wanted to reunite with her old bowling team, the Gorgeous Ladies of Bowling (GLOB). The players, of course, were played by Mary Tyler Moore (Diane), Valerie Harper (Angie), and Cloris Leachman (Peg). Betty White and Georgia Engel both played their respective HiC characters. The episode included several subtle references to TMTMS, and I just could not resist expanding a bit on that idea. I had a lot of fun writing this, and putting in details that hopefully fans will recognize! Please do R&R! :)

Elka still couldn't believe they were all here. And even Diane had made it. The last time Elka had seen her old friend, they had been sharing a jail cell. She hadn't been sure that Diane would be out of prison in time to make the reunion. After her GLOB days, Diane went through a rather rough time, and she'd racked up quite a criminal record.

The thought of all Diane had been through pained Elka. When she had first met Diane, back when they formed their unbelievable bowling team, Diane had seemed so sweet – literally the America's sweetheart type. And now...it was just hard to believe. But Diane wasn't the only surprise here. There were also Angie and Peg. Elka hadn't thought those two would ever be in the same room again. Diane and Angie had been best friends, despite being polar opposites. They even lived in the same apartment building for a while. Peg had been their landlady, and she and Angie never really got along. Both Elka and Peg had had a hard time understanding why someone as sweet as Diane would ever be friends with someone like Angie. Angie was tough and outspoken, a true New Yorker. But somehow, the two women had clicked. Now that Elka thought of it, it wasn't unlike the way she and Mamie Sue had become close recently.

"We were really something, weren't we?" Angie was saying.

"We sure were," Diane agreed immediately. "We beat some pretty tough teams. A few of them were men's teams." She smiled, reminding everyone why _she_ had been the focus of the team.

"Yeah," Angie agreed. "People kept saying we were reflecting the women's movement. But we didn't care about that. We were just a bunch of bowlers!" She rolled her eyes.

"Well, I don't know anything about the women's movement, but we sure did have a lot of fun!" Mamie Sue piped up.

"Oh, Diane, remember those parties you used to throw? Every time we won a match, we celebrated at your place!" Angie nudged her friend.

"Yes," Diane said, smiling a bit sadly. "I remember that."

"I never told you this back then, Diane, but your parties sucked!" Elka exclaimed.

"I had a _few_ bad parties, Elka. That's hardly a crime!"

"That's an interesting choice of words, coming from you, dear," Elka shot back, smiling sweetly.

"Please, we promised we wouldn't fight again!" Mamie Sue was determined to keep the peace.

"Mamie Sue's right," Angie agreed. "The reason we all bowled so well together is that we loved each other. Some of us more than others," she added, eying Peg.

Peg narrowed her eyes. "I never should've let you rent that apartment. I only did it because my daughter thought you were 'a lot of fun.'"

"We did have some great times in that place, didn't we?" Diane asked.

"We did," Angie replied. "God, I can't believe it took us all so long to get back together again. I mean, at our ages, we can't afford to let people go."

Elka was by far the eldest of the group. She hated to think of how much time she did – or didn't – have left. She thought of the women she now lived with. Though they drove her crazy in different ways, Elka was glad she was around people who kept her young.

"Angie's right," Mamie Sue agreed. "Remember what our motto used to be? 'Love is all around.'"

"You know, I always thought that would've made a great song title," Diane said. "I tried a couple of times to write a song to fit it, but it never worked."

By now, Elka was getting sick of this sappy conversation. Diane had been a great bowler in her day, but her friend's never-ending cheerfulness could often be annoying. "You guys, we didn't come here to talk about this crap," she said. "We came here because we were the best damn bowlers in Cleveland!"

"Well, I'm glad to see that after all this time, you haven't lost your class," Peg said sarcastically.

"Oh, well, I'm sorry I'm not as _high-class _as you, Peg. You know, your husband cheated on you a _lot_ back then, and I was one of the women he cheated with!" Elka smiled, proudly remembering her brief affair with Peg's husband. Peg had always been so stuck-up and self-centered. Never once had Elka felt a moment's remorse for what she'd done.

"You guys! You're fighting again!" Mamie Sue yelled. The sound of her actually raising her voice stunned everyone into silence.

"This is ridiculous," Diane finally said. "I came here because I loved you guys back then. I mean, my life might've taken a bad turn or two since we broke up, but this team was the best thing that ever happened to me." Tears were in her eyes as she spoke.

Angie smiled, reaching out to squeeze her friend's hand. "The kid's right. My life hasn't been so great, either. But no matter what happens to me as long as I live, I can always say I was a part of something special. How many people can say _that_?" Unexpectedly, she reached across the table with her other hand, taking Peg's. "I know we all didn't get along back then, but, really, is this how we want to act now? So what if you hated my style? There were a lot of things about you I didn't like, but I'm willing to let it go. How about it?"

Peg was quiet for a long moment before answering. "All right." But her expression showed that her opinion of Angie still hadn't really improved.

"That's the spirit," Mamie Sue said, joining her hand with Angie and Peg's. "Elka?"

"Yeah, I'll bury the hatchet," Elka replied. She glared at Peg, thinking about _where_ she'd like to bury it.

No one seemed to quite know what to say then, until a voice startled Elka. It was Melanie. She and Joy came out of Stormi's together. "Our dates turned out to be duds, so we're going home to drown our sorrows. You want to come?"

Elka turned back to her old friends. Though she had enjoyed seeing them all again, she had a feeling they probably wouldn't make a regular thing of this. "Yeah. But would you like to meet everybody?"

Melanie nodded. "Oh, yes! Elka's told me so much about all of you, I just feel like I know you!"

"Everybody, these are two of my roommates, Melanie and Joy. That's Diane, Angie, and Peg."

Diane smiled warmly at Melanie. In a strange way, she felt a connection to the much younger woman. "Hello."

Melanie felt it, too, as they shook hands. She was honored to be meeting such legendary women.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Joy said, shaking hands with all of them. "Any friend of Elka's is...well, a friend of Elka's!"

Angie laughed. She liked Joy's sense of humor. "It's nice meeting you," Angie said to Joy. "Maybe if we're back in Cleveland again sometime, we could all get to know each other."

"Yeah, we could have a party!" Mamie Sue said.

"I'm in, under two conditions," Elka said. "First, we have it at our place, so Diane can't ruin it. And second, we get a _ lot_ of vodka!"

"Deal," Angie and Joy said in unison.

After a few more moments of small talk, Elka and her roommates began to head home. She hadn't thought back to her GLOB days in so long, it seemed like something from another life. But, strangely, her old life and her new one didn't seem that different. Elka liked that thought. Even if she was in her golden years, she had great friends. What more could a person want than that?

**The End**


End file.
